


taang drabbles

by poweradequeen



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Drabble Series, F/M, Fluff, I Die By My Own Sword, I love them so much, Not Beta Read, but now im literally trash, idk when it happened, like??????, varies in length
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-08-13 04:57:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20168533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poweradequeen/pseuds/poweradequeen
Summary: idk what you want me to say, the title says it allmost of these are written when i’m sleep deprived lmao





	1. Her laugh, His voice

**Author's Note:**

> word count: 154

Her laugh, it was music to his ears. Her laugh, it was his safe haven. The first time he heard it they hadn’t even met, but he fell in love with it the moment it reached his ears. He was sure he’d love the person attached to it too, if they laughed like that.

His voice, it grew to be her favourite sound. His voice, it made her dizzy in the best way possible. She never thought she’d fall in love with his voice when they met, but she did. She didn’t think it was possible, but she loved the owner of the voice more than the voice itself.

For him it was instantaneous, For her it was gradual. Both too stubborn to act, but too in love to get over it. Her laugh, His voice. Completely complementary. They worked together in perfect harmony, meant from the start to be together in the end.


	2. Fancy Dancer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you know that one time katara and aang danced in a cave,,,,,, well now it’s taang 🤪🤪  
au where aang and toph have crushes on each other but are too oblivious to notice anything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> word count: 1006

Toph was sitting with Katara as Aang danced in front of the Fire Nation students. She did call him the ‘Fancy Dancer’ back when she was the Blind Bandit, but now it seemed to truly fit.

“Who knew Twinkle Toes could dance?” Toph asked, bringing the drink in her hands up to her lips and taking a sip. Katara looked at the crowd, Aang was dancing, encouraging everyone to join in. He walked up to a girl and introduced her to the dance floor. She saw the blush on the girls cheeks as she accepted.

“And this is how they do it in the ballrooms of Ba Sing Se!” Aang told them and started a simple dance move, the girl beside mimicking it easily. A few others followed suit, loosening up and living it up a little in the cave. “Teah, that's it! That’s the sound of happy feet!”

More people joined in and Aang told them to freestyle. To make up their own moves. To dance without repercussions or regret. Aang escaped the crowd and walked over to where his friends sat at the table. He extended his hand to Toph.

“I can’t see, Aang. I don’t think me dancing would go so well,” Toph told him, not accepting the invitation.

“If anything, you’d be better than everyone else here. Just focus on the rhythm of the music and follow my lead!” Aang’s hand had moved closer to Toph. “What do you say?”

With reluctance and an annoyed snort, she took his hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. Toph sensed what he was doing, even with his feather light footsteps. She followed his lead in an exuberant dance. It was full of colour, excitement, energy. Everybody else seemed to think so too, heads focused in on the extravagant sight before them. 

“Everyone’s watching us. Shouldn’t we stop?” Toph asked, following along with his movements easily. She was surprised at how easy it was to dance with Aang, how natural it felt to move around him, with him. 

“Don't worry about them. Just focus on the dance,” Aang assured her, and that’s exactly what she did. The crowd long forgotten, the only thing in her mind was the dance and the person leading it. Their bodies moving together like the dance was made just for them. They danced together as if they always had, completely in sync with one another. The beat of her heart matched that of the drums and she was glad, because her heart started pounding louder and louder as the dance went on.

The crowd stared in awe as the two danced. It looked as though they’d danced this exact dance a thousand times before. They knew exactly what the other was going to do, at exactly what time. None of the Fire Nation students had ever seen such drive within a dance, such gusto. Their eyes were wide as they thought dance had come to an end but kept on. The dance ended with Toph and Aang’s bodies flush together as he held her in a dip. The people around them burst into cheers and claps, but neither of them seemed to notice.

What they noticed was their very close proximity. Toph could feel Aang’s breath on her face, Aang could feel the warmth of her body against his own. Their breaths mingled as they stayed in their positions. Aang realized and brought Toph back to a stand. The sudden action almost knocked him over as Toph was pulled right against his body again. This time close enough that their nose knocked, their lips only so far from each other. 

Toph could feel Aang’s heart, it was beating just as fast as hers, but she told herself it was just because of the dance. She calmed her ragged breathing, letting go of Aang’s hand. She walked back to the table with Aang right beside her.

“I guess I should have stayed with Fancy Dancer, huh?” Toph asked as they made their way back, the crowd dancing once more.

“What?” Aang furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, Toph just laughed.

“Back when I was the Blind Bandit and you said you’d fight me, I said you were light on your feet and called you ‘Fancy Dancer’. I guess I should stick with it over Twinkle Toes with moves like that,” Toph explained, a giggle in her voice. Ever since Aang had heard that laugh in the swamp he’d been drawn to it. Today was no different, her laugh or giggle or chuckle, it was contagious. At least, it was for him. It sounded like heaven and even only for a second, his heart started to swell.

Aang went back to dancing, letting all his inhibitions disappear. That is, until guards showed up to shut the party down. He made a run for it, people started covering for him by putting their belts on their heads. They let him and his friends escape deeper into the cave as guards were circled in by kids wearing their belts as headbands. He thanked a kid watching him run away, and. set off into the night. When the hole in the cave wall closed off, the kids jaw was on the floor, but their were already hopping on Appa.

“We’re safe, Sokka. You can take off the moustache now,” Katara spoke up, casually leaning against Appa’s saddle.

“No, I can’t. It’s permanently glued to my skin,” Sokka said. He turned his head to the side, and stroked his fake beard.

“Way to go, Dancy Pants,” Toph held tightly onto the saddle, revelling in the fact she could at least see Appa and his passengers. “I think you really did help those kids. You taught them to be free.”

“I don’t know. It was just a dance party, that’s all,” Aang replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well, that was some dance party, Aang,” Katara winked, knowing full well of his crush on the Earthbender, causing him to blush. Sokka started clapping slowly.

“Flamey-o, sir. Flamey-o!”


	3. God, I Wish You Could

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it’s uhhh,,,,, actually a bit angsty ngl,,,,,  
au where everything's the same except there all three years older cause it made more sense to me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> word count: 1510

“Being the Avatar, I can’t have worldly attachments,” Aang was partially turned away from her. Not having the strength to face her completely. To look at her would be suicide right now. To look at her would consume him, he’d forget about everything to do with Chakras, and that couldn’t happen. He wouldn’t let it.

“What does that mean, Aang?” Toph asked, shifting her feet to get a better sense of what he was doing. She had a feeling she already knew what he was going to say. Her heart had already dropped, shattered into a million pieces in preparation.

“It means,” he swallowed, not ready to say what was coming. When he found out it broke him inside. It was worse than when he found out about the Air Nomads. Even worse than when he lost Appa. He clenched his jaw, forcing down the tears threatening to pour out. He tried to steady his breathing before he spoke. “I can’t have you.”

“I understand,” Toph tried her hardest to hold back the tears welling in her eyes. She bit her tongue, trying to lessen the pain of the headache she was getting from the pressure buildup. “You have duties as the Avatar, I can’t get in the way of that.”

“God, I wish you could,” he couldn’t handle being in the room any longer. He couldn’t handle looking at her, the tears welling in her eyes, the pain in her voice. It was breaking him all over again. He stepped through the doorway and the floodgates opened. His back was flushed against the wall, he slid down until he sat on the floor. His head in hands, wet from the endless river of tears streaming down his cheeks. Knowing he was the cause of her pain broke him more than he could have ever imagined.

She sank to her knees as soon as he left. Her heart shattering into a million pieces was an understatement. She felt as if her heart had vanished. Nothing could have prepared her for the longing in his voice. The pain evident in how he held himself, his steps were heavy, filled with sorrow. His pain hurt her more than her own pain ever could. Tears at the brink of her eyes, not having the will, the strength to stop them, they soaked her skin. 

Aang told himself it would be better for her, for him, the world, but it still hurt. More than anything he’d ever experienced, because he would still have to see her everyday, she would still train him in mastering Earthbending. Not being able to be with her, having her so close and yet, just out of reach. It hurt. So much.

Katara and Sokka noticed something off with the two. They lacked the light they had once upon a time. It was as if the colour from their life was drained, like they were living a greyscale life. It didn’t suit them, they used to be upbeat, loud, obnoxious. Now they were quiet, obedient, downcast. It was like they were following a script and they knew it had a tragic ending, they pushed away their feelings, hoping to skip the pain all together. 

“Hey Toph, are you okay?” Katara leaned against the frame of the door. Her arms were folded against her body, her voice was soft. 

“I’m fine. You don’t need to go acting all motherly on me, don’t worry,” Toph assured, laughing a little, but both knew it was hollow and empty. What was once genuine happiness was now a cavity, echoing in her very being.

“I may not be able to sense through earthbending, but I do know that was a lie. What’s going on, Toph?” Katara sat down, Toph couldn’t help but break, usually she was so good at controlling her emotions, but this was Katara. The person who acted more like a mother to her than her own. The one person she knew she could confide in.

“Aang can’t have worldly attachments,” It came out a bit airy, pent up tears breaking through the dam and spilling out. Katara brought her into a hug, Toph’s breathing started faltering. “And, I can’t, I won’t do anything about it. The world needs the Avatar, more than I need Aang.”

“Toph, how long have you kept this all locked up?” Katara asked, smoothing her hand on Toph’s head.

“A while, but I can’t keep him from being the Avatar. That’s so, incredibly selfish. There’s a war going on. The world needs the Avatar at his best, I can’t be the one keeping him from that,” Katara felt tears soak through her clothes, but she could care less. Her friend needed her, she couldn’t let them down.

“It’s okay to have feelings. You don’t have to hide your emotions all the time. I’m here for you, always. I promise,” Her grip around Toph tightened, before she let go. “You can always come to me, whenever you need anything. I don’t care if it’s past midnight, I’m your friend and I plan to act like one.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” it was barely audible, the tears had stopped, her breathing had steadied. 

“You should get some rest, you’re tired,” Toph didn’t complain, just curled up in her bed, bringing the blanket up to cover her body. “Goodnight, Toph.”

“Goodnight, Katara.”

Sokka was still up when Katara went to make herself a cup of tea. She made her tea without a sound, she sat across from him, taking a sip she started to speak.

“I know why Aang and Toph have been so gloomy lately,” it was a question they wanted answered for a while. Sokka’s eyes widened a bit, staring intently at his sister, waiting for an explanation.

“Aang can’t have worldly attachments and by extension, can’t be with Toph. It’s breaking both of them apart,” she set her cup aside, looking down at the table they both sat at. “I asked Toph, she just broke down. It was just so unlike her, makes me wonder how Aang’s really doing.”

“I think he’s still awake, you could go ask him,” Sokka suggested, his heart breaking for the pair.

“And why can’t you ask him?” Katara reached for her tea, bringing it up to her lips.

“I don’t know, you just have this way of getting people to talk to you. You’re so naturally comforting,” Sokka explained, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair.

“Alright, I’ll go,” Katara quickly finished her tea. She walked to Aang’s room and knocked softly on the door. She heard a muffled door saying something akin to ‘come in’.

“Aang, I know there’s something wrong. You’ve been acting so melancholic for a while now. I miss your old cheery attitude,” Katara shuffled in, closing his door behind her.

“I guess being the Avatar and being happy just don't go hand in hand,” his tone was bitter, resentful. Very unlike Aang. “I can’t have attachments to things, because I need to go into the avatar state. I have to let go of the people I love to open my seventh Chakra. If I don’t, I block it forever.”

“Aang, is this about Toph?” Her voice was soft, sympathetic, soothing. Aang couldn’t trust his voice, so he nodded, a single tear falling down his cheek. Her heart broke all over again, they didn’t deserve this. They deserved to be children, in love. Without the looming threat of a hundred year war. 

She hugged him, and he collapsed in her embrace. He’d kept it bottled up for so long, to let it out seemed foreign. 

“It’s so unfair, I love her so much, and right when I finally realize it, accept it, she’s ripped away from me,” he sobbed, his heart on his sleeve. “I try so hard as the Avatar, I do everything I can for everyone else. Why can’t I have this one thing?”

“Because life is hard and unfair. It takes without remorse and unfortunately, it’s something we have to deal with, but we have people that can help us through it,” Katara said, stepping back from the hug. She looked him in the eyes. They were red and bloodshot from crying, they held the past of a broken boy who had dealt with too much loss in his life. “You should go to bed, Aang. You look like you need it.”

“Thank you, Katara.”

“No problem.”

Toph and Aang woke up happier than they’d been the last few weeks. They let themselves be taken care of. They let themselves feel what they’d pushed away for so long, they learned to accept the pain. Deal with it, rather than avoiding. 

The pain hadn’t disappeared, but it was being worked on, dealt with. By the people who cared about them to catch any of the pieces of themselves they drop. Aang still wanted to be with Toph. Toph still wanted to be with Aang, but their love was forbidden. They were coming to terms with it. Slowly and painfully, but they were.


End file.
